The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has issued a statement calling on Belarus to withdraw its troops from the Ukrainian border to a distance that exceeds the range of the fire systems available to the Belarusian Armed Forces, Babel reports.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Armed Forces of Belarus are concentrating personnel, equipment, tanks, artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, and air defense in the Gomel region near the border with Ukraine under the guise of exercises. Mercenaries of the former Wagner Private Military Company have also been spotted there.
We call on Belarusian officials not to make tragic mistakes for their country under pressure from Moscow, – the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The Ukrainian ministry also added that Ukraine has never committed and is not going to commit any unfriendly actions against the Belarusian people. However, if the Belarusian military violates the Ukrainian border, Ukraine will do everything to defend itself – all troop concentrations, facilities, and supply routes in Belarus will become legitimate targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The monitoring project Belarusian Hajun writes that the grouping concentrated near the border with Ukraine consists of about 1,100 soldiers. They are stationed up to 50 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.
